Personal Care Residents Enjoying all Aspects of Beaumont

By Lydia Gemmer, PCA, MHSA - Director of Personal Care

Residing in Beaumont’s Personal Care allows residents many choices in planning their days. Lena Ciurlino, Mary Lee Straub, and Sandra Feitelson take full advantage of this fact by attending and participating in many programs offered by Resident Services.

Lena Ciurlino, who moved here from South Philadelphia, loves that she can attend so many programs at Beaumont, particularly music programs and special resident dinners. She says, “I like people!”. Lena enjoys having so many opportunities to meet other Beaumont residents. Chatting, learning about others, and making new friends at Beaumont, has been a joy for her. Her daughter and family live nearby, but when out with them Lena sometimes must remind them that she is busy here and is anxious to return to the community for events that she does not want to miss!

Lena is a regular participant in group exercise classes in the Fitness Center. She also enjoys horticultural programs, various outings, and any chance she has to socialize with others.

Mary Lee Straub was familiar with Beaumont from a brief stay here years ago. Her son encouraged her to move into Personal Care. As Mary Lee states, “He thinks it is the greatest place on earth.” Mary Lee is a frequent attendee of concerts, musical programs, and resident dinners. She also goes to the Beaumont Fitness Center for group exercise classes. She enjoys the benefits of these group classes, including meeting so many other residents.

Mary Lee led a very active life in Havertown prior to her move to Beaumont and continues to be involved in two outside social groups. She is the “group organizer” and enjoys these outings to meet up with old friends while also fitting in Beaumont events. As she says, “sometimes I have too many things to choose from, but it is a good problem to have!”.

Sandra Feitelson moved to Beaumont after many years in her Wynnewood home with summers at her shore home. She describes herself as very sociable and outgoing. She has gone out of her way to introduce herself to other residents as she loves meeting new people and making new friends. Sandra has a natural curiosity about people that makes her easy to talk to.

All three residents are delighted to have so much available to them to enjoy at Beaumont!

“It’s Not Like a Blind Date…”

Photos by Linda Madara

“It’s not like a blind date…”

“I know that, but maybe I won’t know anyone …”

“That’s the whole point. Meet new people. Eat a wonderful dinner! Have a great time!”

Not an easy goal for a party, but Beaumont’s Mixer dinners are always a wild success. One only had to see the line-up of residents checking in for their table assignments and hear the chatter of excitement in the halls to know this most recent gathering would be no exception.

“Breaking the ice” in a new situation is never easy, even for the most personality-endowed person. Being given a seat at a festively decorated table with a glorious floral centerpiece took the edge off any feeling of nerves.

Before you knew it, the dinner partner on the right was introducing him or herself and the gal across the table was the nice one you had met at the mailbox whose name you could not remember.

Everyone was so pleasant and friendly. Then the moment came to sit down and face dinner. All fears fled as the most amazing “bowl” made from a hollowed-out loaf of bread containing ginger carrot soup arrived. (Yes, it really was a bread loaf.) Quickly and cautiously the curious diners took their first taste…absolutely delish! Wow!

By that time, conversation was buzzing with newly made friends and neighbors at the table. The main course, beautifully presented, arrived as described on the menu card. The fish course gave the soup bowl a run for its money. How could any dessert top this?

What a way to start a party! Discussions, which were admittedly whether the bowl would leak before one finished the soup, were heard at all tables… F.Y.I. not a drop of the wonderful starting course was lost through leakage. All of the bowls were perfect.

Depending on one’s sweet tooth, it did. The glass of custard and fresh berries topped with whipped cream and chocolate swirls was just the right finish. Sweet, exciting, but not overwhelming…unless you ate your fiercely strict dieting neighbor’s dessert as well. That did not happen more than twice in the whole dining room.

Zack, the magician behind the party, turned on the mic as he brought out the chefs (that’s chef with an “S” at the end) and the remarkable waitstaff so we could thank them. Lined up along the wall, they received the enthusiastic accolades of everyone present for making everything go flawlessly from our arrival to the coffee at meal’s end. What a wow of a party! We should eat like this every day! (Actually, we can, IF we come out of our apartments and villas and eat in our dining rooms!)

Blind dates have never been like this!

Alice Cullen

By Peter Abel

Alice Cullen, having led a very active life, is now looking forward to relaxing and enjoying her newly renovated and lovely Villa. Alice was born in NYC but has spent most of her life on the Main Line. She attended The Spence School and then Mt. Vernon Seminary for the last two years of high school. After two years at Bennett Junior College, her plans for further education were shelved when she married her first husband and proceeded to have and raise three children. Her second husband, Craig Cullen, founded and ran Cullen Construction Company, which builds and remodels dwellings and is well known around the Main Line, including at Beaumont. After Alice bought her Villa, she had the interior completely remodeled. It was A Family Affair. The project was designed by Alice's daughter, Cynthia Nemo, proprietor of Cynthia Brooks Designs. The construction work was done by (surprise?) Cullen Construction Company. (Were you able to negotiate a good price, Alice?)

Alice’s entrepreneurial nature surfaced when she founded Alice Cullen Gift Boutique, selling household decorative accessories in Devon and fundraising fairs at The Willows, the

Shipley School, and other nearby and distant venues. She ran that enterprise for 15 years.

Her favorite sports are golf and tennis. She was a member of the women's tennis team at Merion Cricket Club. Craig and Alice spent many happy days aboard their 60-foot sloop, plying the waters off Maine in summer and the Caribbean Islands in winter. She loves sailing and other sports, but her eyes really light up when she talks about her favorite activity, hunting game birds, which she did often both in the US and in Africa. Closer to home, she loves gardening and is still a member of The Garden Workers. She is also on the West Philadelphia Committee of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Welcome, Alice.